Neil Young Becomes a Twitter Sensation

Legendary rocker Neil Young might not be the first guy you'd think of in terms of social media trendsetters, and with cheerful little ditties like 'The Needle and the Damage Done,' he might not make anyone's list of the funniest guys in the music business, either. But the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer proved to be both on Wednesday afternoon (Oct. 24), when he took to Twitter for an hour-long online chat that displayed his unusual sense of humor, becoming a worldwide trending topic in the process.

Young will release a new album titled 'Psychedelic Pill' with Crazy Horse next week, and he took part in the chat to promote the project. But it quickly veered away from that topic as a slew of questions from fans poured in, with Young responding with a mix of sincerity, wit and deadpan humor.

Not surprisingly, many of the questions concerned music, and Young revealed that he is driving around with Bob Dylan's new album 'Tempest' in his car right now. He named Foster the People as a young band that he rates highly and said he would choose electric guitar over acoustic if he had to choose just one. He named Jimmy Reed as his favorite blues musician, and confirmed that he will tour in Europe with Crazy Horse next year. The musician also said it is likely that he will record with Dave Grohl at some point.

Young displayed his off-kilter humor when responding to a question about Axl Rose, replying, "Axl and I are doing a world tour together." In another somewhat bizarre tweet, Young admitted that he has been recording with Crazy Horse under a full moon since the time of 'American Stars and Bars.' He also drolly said that he is preparing for the projected end of the world (according to the Mayan calendar) by "working out." When he was asked what it means to have attracted whole generations of fans, Young answered, "If you're still alive, it means you're getting old. I think that's what it means."

Young also addressed a range of other topics, from farmers to sports to politics. Asked what is the best way to support Farm Aid, Young wrote, "Avoid GMOs [Genetically Modified Organisms] at Whole Foods." In response to a question about the rights of homosexuals he replied, "Gay is good," and he replied to a question about the NHL lockout by saying it was all about "money money money money money money money."

In perhaps the most surprising answer of them all, Young -- who has fought the commercialization of his music for his entire career, even to the point of Geffen Records once suing him for delivering a record they felt was not promotable -- responded to a question asking why he is still on a major label, saying, "Why would I not be with a major label? I love my label. Music people live there."

Neil Young and Crazy Horse release 'Psychedelic Pill' on Oct. 30 via Reprise Records -- where music people live!